One small thing can change someone's world drastically. One single moment can bring a person from a fragile being, floating in time, to an actual brave soul with everything to give. But sometimes it takes a big action to fulfill those changes. Not just for one person, but for two that are linked together since the start. It wasn't part of the plan. Who would plan to be in the position I'm in right now? Everything started that day, the day that I was supposed to die. I had, actually, but something brought me back. But when I came to, it was too late. Everything I'd ever known had vanished, and I was left alone with nothing but my thoughts to comfort me.
How could this even happen? I was dead! I'd seen the ridiculous lights and the hopeful faces. I'd seen everything that you're supposed to. But after what seemed like a lifetime, I had woken up with an incredible pain in my abdomen. Who lives through a god damn injury like that? Well, I couldn't be completely skeptical. Stranger things have happened to me in the last couple months. After everything that has happened, I believed in myself enough to understand why I'd lived through that. But my reason for living was gone, and there was no telling where I'd find him again.
After I had woken up and thought everything through, there was still the problem about my injury. I sat around and thought for a moment, having nothing to use to stop the bleeding. In some miracle sort of way, the bleeding was more relaxed until I could find some way to heal the injury. I began crawling as much as I could, trying to find anyone to help me. After what seemed like hours, I began to feel the blood seeping through once again. But a group of people began emerging through the horizon just above the hill in front of me. It took them no time to notice me, and the leader of the group came running down the hill.
"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?"
The woman, with a cloak around her frail body, leaned down towards me, staring in surprise. I must've looked pretty bad. I coughed, feeling blood running down my chin. It was definitely a surprise I wasn't dead at this point. The woman was small and frail, her small fingers gently pressed against my wound. I winced, having no energy to push her hand away. "You're bleeding pretty bad," She mumbled. I smirked, coughing once more. "You don't say." She chuckled under her breath, leaning over her shoulder to call for help from her friends. "So you have a sense of humor, and you can talk so that's a good sign. What's your name?" She asked.
I opened my mouth to speak when I felt her fingers continued to press down on the stop, causing me to groan quietly in pain. She apologized, running her soft fingers gentler against it. Her two friends, both men, stood above, handing her some kind of cloth. It was about this point when my vision began to blur. "I'm going to use this as a tourniquet, alright? It might hurt just a bit," She said. Her voice was like music to my ears after the day I'd had. I nodded, letting her do whatever she needed to do. It hurt a lot, but it was much better after it was secure around me. I sat up, letting out a long, huffed sigh. The woman raised an eyebrow at me, expecting me to make some movements. I wasn't sure if I could stand on my own, given the amount of blood I lost. But it seemed like they were all waiting for me to do something.
Here I am once again, all eyes on me. I straightened myself, heaving myself onto my feet, only to wobble and fall back down with a huff. The woman laughed, holding out her hand. "Here, let me help. We'll bring you to our camp and get you something to eat," She said. I nodded, taking her hand and allowing her to help me to my feet. She allowed me to lean on her shoulder until I could gain more energy to move on my own. It wasn't until we arrived at their camp that I could fully walk without falling over.
The camp was small, with only a few other groups of people residing in it. The camp was underneath a canopy, with home-made tents. My rescuers brought me into a large tent with medical supplies, setting me down on one of the chairs. "Xavier, can you get the doctor for me?" The woman asked one of her friends, the tallest male. He nodded, rushing out of the tent. The other stood beside the woman, looking me up and down. I wasn't sure if he felt threatened or just didn't trust me. Either way, he didn't look like he was happy to see me. Soon after the doctor arrived, the woman was shooing him away as well.
"I'll come see you later, Jay."
"Alright."
Jay eyed me down one last time before exiting the tent. I chuckled softly to myself, before wincing one the doctor pressed at my abdomen. The doctor was a small man with a scratchy, five o'clock shadow that made him look much older than he was. "So what exactly happened to you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I wasn't quite sure who these people were, and if they even knew who I was. I thought about telling them the truth, or just explaining tiny details. It wouldn't matter in the end what I told them, because once I was healed, I'd make my way back to my team. I was sure they thought I was dead, and I needed to get to them before I was just a memory.
"I… uh… was stabbed."
"That's a pretty damn good stab wound. Lemme guess… A gunman?"
I nodded slowly, and he leaned away from me. Without having to even explain anything further, he continued to examine me. The fingers that pressed against my stomach were rough, but once he had cleaned it up and used the medicine they had, the pain had subsided. I let out a sigh, watching him finish up rewrapping the gauze around me. "It's a miracle you're even alive," the doctor said with a smirk, "You're one lucky man." I laughed, nodding my head. If only he knew who I was. This camp seemed to be full of a younger crowd, with small supplies and a weak arsenal. Either they were scared and afraid to leave, or they just didn't know what to do. They seemed to be just surviving with what they had.
I smirked, enjoying the loss of pain. "Thanks," I mumbled, "But if it weren't for that young lady over there, I woulda been toast out there." The woman giggled, her cheeks turning pink. Now that she'd taken off her cloak, I could see her more clearly. Her body was small and thin, with long blonde hair that fell down her shoulders. She was beautiful, but didn't seem to know it. "We couldn't just leave a poor man to die out there, can we?" I shook my head, smiling over at her.
The doctor left the tent, leaving me with instructions on how to change to bandages. The woman then introduced herself and fed me food that they had. For such a small camp, they had plenty of good food to enjoy. "Thanks for the food," I said with a smirk, "Athena, was it?" She nodded, sitting down in front of me. She combed through her hair, watching me eat with amusement. "I'm glad that everything is good. Do you know how long you were out for?" She asked. I shook my head. There wasn't much I remembered after I passed out. I mean, I thought for sure I was going to die. But then, I woke up in the middle of nowhere, with no one else around.
"All I remember is getting stabbed and thinking I was dying."
"Well, I'm glad that you didn't."
"Heh, me too."
She smiled again, her cheeks once again turning red. She took away the eaten food, tossing it away and bringing me water and whatever else I needed. I felt much better after a while of resting, and I wanted to head out as soon as possible. But the more I tried to move, the more my body would stop me. I had energy, but not enough energy to move at a fast pace. "You should get some rest," Athena said, bringing me a blanket. "Please, just stay for the night. You'll have more energy in the morning." I sighed, looking at her hopeful smile and unable to say no. Resting would probably do me some good. Then, after I woke up, I can start on my journey to finding everyone again.
Athena showed me around the camp sometime before nightfall. There was a total of twelve people that were with her in the campsite. I met more of her friends, and they reminded me a lot of my own. Her younger brother followed behind her, tugging on her skirt and staring at me with wide eyes. "He's adorable," I said, smiling down at him. She nodded, ruffling his dark hair and pushing him off to his friends. "He's always wanting to be around me. Ever since our parents passed…" Her voice trailed off, and I could see the sadness in her eyes. I rubbed her shoulders, which made her smile.
"Things have been tough on him, and being out here with him being so young."
"Yeah, I know."
"Anyway, I should get him fed and in bed."
I nodded, looking down at her outstretched hand. "It was very nice meeting you. If you leave tomorrow, just know that you're always welcome here," She said. I smiled, shaking her hand firmly. Her brother had begun attacking her leg once again, and she let out a cute giggle. She grabbed at her hands, pushing him forward. She turned to leave, but suddenly turned around, smiling wide. "I never did catch your name," She said. I winked, flashing a cheeky grin. "The name's Kamina."
